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At that time, Jack was famous for his personal leader’s notes. In business, Jack Welch was the most famous advocate of cvs2bvs in the US.
Jack used cvs2bvs at GE to help him change the culture of a 100-year-old manufacturer to the most valuable company (at the time he left it) in the history of the world!
I was invited to GE soon after he became chairman and CEO. In the 1980s I spent several years, at his request, installing the cvs2bvs brain software at GE. He wrote to me saying,
“I would love to have a management team that really understood the cvs2bvs algorithm. It’s the ‘value-added’ role in the management process”.
In his book about his time at GE called, Jack (Warner Books 2001), he wrote, “It would make each of us wake up with the goal of “Finding a Better Way Every Day”. It was a phrase that became a slogan, put up on the walls of GE factories and offices around the world”.
Jack also used cvs2bvs in crisis management situations and on one very serious occasion involving a crisis between GE and President Reagan’s Defense Secretary, Caspar Weinberger, Jack asked me to meet with him privately, in Manhattan, to apply cvs2bvs to finding a solution.
He also told me that it helped him design new concepts like ‘Boundarylessness’ and ‘Work-Out’. He wrote, “Suddenly, “Finding a Better Way Every Day” wasn’t just a slogan. It was the essence of boundaryless behaviour, and it defined our expectations”.
As my Dad used to say, “Nobody’s perfect!” and Jack had his share of setbacks but he was a genuine strategic thinker and one of the most accomplished business leaders of his time.
Jack was famous for the little hand-written notes he would send to people. He sent me several and the one I prized the most was, “Michael, you are a friend of our company”.
Hand-written notes are a very personal and powerful communication. I have known several leaders who use handwritten notes with great effect.
I first was taught to use ‘The Leader’s Note’ in the Army and I saw recently where the Duchess of Cornwall (who is Royal Colonel of the 4th Battalion The Rifles) sent handwritten notes to all the soldiers in her regiment who were wounded in Iraq.
Lieutenant Colonel Patrick Sanders, commander of 4 Rifles, said,
She bled with us throughout the tour. She wrote by hand to all the wounded and the families of those killed. She gave each of the wounded presents – whisky or hampers. We feel incredibly lucky to have her as our Royal Colonel. At a time when people in England did not really know what we were going through, she did.
DFQ #20:
PTO: Write a Leader’s Note!
On a postcard, engraved writing paper or special paper for the purpose (not email), write a short personal note of encouragement (around 10 to 100 words) to someone who sees you as their leader or mentor.
Post that you have completed this PTO within the next 24 hours saying who, when, where etc:
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I wrote a note to our daughter telling her how well she is doing at settling into her new school.
I wrote a note to my friend at school : when you don’t understand something then try to understand it .there is always something that you don’t know until you learn it
To the students.
Remember, you said our finger prints are unique; well if they are unique doesn’t that mean that you are unique. Can one be unique without unique attributes. This proves all of you are unique in some way or the other, do not copy others be original. Your uniqueness will help you shine in what ever you do. Explore your unique strengths and work on them, make them your driving force. Lead from front do not settle for the back seat.
Inspire do not conspire, if you wish to fulfill your destiny.
On the birth of their first child…
R & A,
the road ahead will be filled with sleepless nights, worry, mystery illnesses & bruises, crying, tantrums, refusals, embarrassments, disappointments & ongoing grief. It will also be filled with love, laughter, & wonder as your daughter fills your lives & makes you whole. Hang in there; it’s going to be a bumpy ride.
To an elderly relative who lost her husband to tell her what a wonderful person he was and that I will be there for her in all her needs during this difficult adjustment period.
To a student who sruggled with severe ill health and set backs but completed the course work in spite of this .
Paul , I enjoyed your essay very much ; thanks for completing it in spite of all the set backs . good luck next year .
Denis
I wrote a note to my teenager today. I’m spending a bit of time away from home for work and it coincides with a bit of a surge in her study workload. Together we’re talking about managing her time, identifying priorities and working smarter. I see real growth in her maturity and the way she approaches her work and in the note I’ve told her that and that I was proud of the way she’s coping.
To My Team and Improving Performance…
A team of people who put together a function – though I have to admit that this was done on email last night before I read this today. I have a box of thank you notes in my desk drawer and send them out on a regular basis.
On the receiving end, I recently received a basket full of goodies with lots of little notes tucked into it from my peers as I battled a challenging time in my life. More than anything in that basket I loved the notes. It made me realise that I work with an extraordinary team of people who really care.
My direct report, Today when she arrived at work